Report 1117
Special Report #1117 Skillset: Aerochemantics Skill: Thinktank/Links Org: Hartstone Status: Completed Mar 2013 Furies' Decision: Solution 1 (not DMP, reducing from +25% to +10%) and 3 (lose 10% of base damage per room from epicentre). Problem: The bonus to adjuvant/spore/catalyst damage on a target standing in the demesne of a linked mage/druid quickly becomes overwhemling, because it is a flat percent that bypasses the diminished returns of dmp buffs, which can already stack quite high. While it makes getting hit by these effects much more dangerous, it does nothing to increase the likelyhood that they hit, or that the caster will be alive to use them. This promotes turning combat into 'laser tag', devolving fights with a chemancer-meld combo into staying constantly shielded (and stationary) or risking being blasted with enormous damage totals. 0 R: 0 Solution #1: Remove the 25% damage bonus for a linked demesne for all adjuvant/spore/catalyst and mirror skills and replace it with the equivalent of a 25 'all' (offense) dmp for a/s/c effects only. 0 R: 0 Solution #2: Remove the 25% damage bonus for a linked demesne etc., replace with an increase to the chance for sheens/branches/clouds by 5% while the -chemancer/-wood is in the linked demesne. 0 R: 0 Solution #3: Solution 1, but in addition make the damage on these attacks scale down the further the target is from the epicenter. Player Comments: ---writes: This is definitely a needed change and I support both solutions. ---writes: Either is fine and they won't hurt 1v1 combat. Something along these lines is needed, the resulting damage is devastating and has too large an impact on group combat. ---writes: Either solution is fine ---writes: Supported, either solution. ---writes: Supported. ---writes: Clarify 'dmp'? You mean damage mitigation or damage boosting? We use the same acronym for both sometimes, unfortunately. ---writes: Also, solution #2 was in report 1049 (less specific in that one) and it was turned down. I doubt the opinion's changed since then. I mean, you're welcome to make your suggestions whatever you want, but felt like that needed pointing out. ---writes: I assume it meant damage boos ---writes: Supported. ---writes: Two clarifications: Solution 2 was NOT in report 1049 and was therefore not turned down there. Second: It wouldn't make any sense to give the caster defensive dmp against their own effects, so yes: Offense DMP. ---writes: Oh, you're right! I misread your solution here (I thought you meant fields/mists/flowers), ie the passives, not the retributives. Ha. Well there we go. Nevermind then in that regard! ---writes: Well, my first read through made me think you meant for the damage types associated with their reactions, then the second made me realize you probably meant for a weighted +25 offensive boost. ---writes: I'm not sure why it's necessary that the linking makes these adjuvant 'bomb' attacks ranged, either. Buff the damage with a +dmp bonus, and then seriously tone down the ranged aspect if it is decided to keep it. Boulderblast and Hailstorm were both seriously nerfed, and they were an AoE? attack that could only be done to -one- room at a time, not to all rooms in a radius around the caster. This is particularly egregious with Aerochems who have multiple nukes that can be made ranged. Basic idea would be to cut the damage the further away from the caster you are- 50% if one room away, 33% if 2, 25% if 3, etc. Thus they are still useable, but not in the "I'm just going to stand over here and cast it while doing nothing else" kind of way. ---writes: Honestly, the mere fact that you can link and have these things increase their radius when more people are linked, they are -mobile-, and they can't be broken or protected against (unlike a demesne) makes them pretty broken. Adjuvants and the like should be blocked by protection when not in the same room as the user. They are, after all, supposed to be a 1v1 spec. Or so we are told. ---writes: Just to comment on one point you make Xen - we've considered, previously, removing demesne protection scrolls, since their purpose is now null and void (group hindrance with demesnes at range - we've since limited demesnes to a smaller radius). Like demesne effects, passive mists etc weren't really meant to be removed/blocked save by shielding, and I know Est has said this a few times. ---writes: Apparently shielding doesn't even stop the passives, blind does. Or so Enyalida says. ---writes: It looks like the damage problem with Aerochemancy is stacking compounding buffs: dmp (higher on these attacks for aerochems than it is for aquachems), interferance, demesne bonus, artifact bonus. That stack makes any increase in dmp (due to beer, for instance) magnified enormously, to the levels you don't see in the other skillsets due to poorer damage typing and less dmp. Solution 1 will help alleviate this problem by both reducing the percentage increased, and hopefully (depending on how it implemented), reduce the number of levels of compounding boost, which is more important. A further change to make interferance not compound should fix the bulk of this runaway damage problem. ---writes: Neos & I just tested passives on the test server - blindness is not stopping them, neither is shield.